Wednesday, March 31, 2010

WFTDA Skills Test

Tonight was the first skills test for Roller Derby but I did not take it. I "chickened" out and scheduled myself to take it next week. Remember that I previously told you that Roller Derby is serious s**t! The skater must demonstrate proficiency in the following WFTDA areas in order to be placed on a team:

BEGINNING SKILLS:
Skating Posture
1.1.1 Bends at knees and hips with shoulders back
1.1.2 Swings arms fluidly
1.2 Stride
1.2.1 Has steady, confident, fluid strides
1.2.2 Uses both feet to push forward on straightaways
1.3 Crossovers
1.3.1 Performs smooth crossovers while skating at a brisk pace going into and coming out of turns.
1.3.2 Uses both feet to push during crossovers
1.6 Stops
1.6.1 Skater must come to a complete stop from a brisk pace, using proper form and without losing her balance
1.7 Other skills
1.7.1 Performs one-foot glides with each foot for the length of the straightaway with good balance
1.7.2 Has the ability to propel self while keeping all eight wheels on the floor
1.7.3 Can move easily and fluidly from one side of the skating lane to the other.
Skater must perform the following falls safely, accurately, and naturally with quick recovery
2.1 Single Knee Falls
2.1.1 Left
2.1.2 Right
2.1.3 Recovers from each without putting hands on the ground
2.2 Double Knee Falls
2.2.1 Recovers within three seconds
2.3 Figure 4/Baseball Slide
2.3.1 Performs this fall with both legs on or near the ground
Skater must demonstrate the ability to perform the following tasks without losing her balance or falling
3.1 Stepping -From a standstill:
3.1.1 Forward and Backward
3.1.2 Side to side in both directions
3.5 Weaving
3.5.1 Maneuvers through 10 cones placed six feet apart, covering both straight-aways and turns
The skater must demonstrate proficiency in the following areas:
7.1 Additional Skills
7.1.1 Pushups and situps executed with correct form. Beginners (20)
7.1.2 Warm up and stretch. Skaters must perform their own warm up and stretch appropriate to their level.
7.1.3 Safety. Skaters must show working knowledge of safety equipment and practices.

INTERMEDIATE SKILLS:
1.4 Speed
1.4 Completes 5 laps around the track in one minute or less (based on WFTDA regulation track)
2.4 180 Degree Turn Single Knee Fall
2.4.1 Exhibits control to complete the fall in exact opposite direction
3.2 Squatting -While skating:
3.2.1 Squats and coasts through the entire straightaway and turn
3.2.2 Squat and propels self on straightaways and around turns
3.3 Hopping
3.3.2 From one foot to the other
3.4 Focus
3.4.1 Can look left, right, and behind quickly and unexpectedly while skating
4.4 Weaving Around Moving Obstacles
4.4.1 Demonstrates weaving through a line of moving skaters that are an arm’s width apart (such as in the “Last In Line” drill).
The skater must demonstrate proficiency in the following areas:
7.1 Additional Skills
7.1.1 Pushups and situps executed with correct form. intermediate (35)
7.1.2 Warm up and stretch. Skaters must perform their own warm up and stretch appropriate to their level.
7.1.3 Safety. Skaters must show working knowledge of safety equipment and practices.

ADVANCED SKILLS:
1.5 Endurance
1.5.1 Skates 25 laps around regulation track within five minutes (based on WFTDA regulation track)
3.3 Hopping
3.3.1 With both feet, moving forward, both feet landing simultaneously
Skater must demonstrate the ability to perform the following skills legally and safely
4.1 Whips
4.1.1 Giving whips
4.1.2 Receiving whips
4.2 Pushes
4.2.1 Giving pushes
4.2.2 Receiving pushes
4.3 Pacing
4.3.1 Varies speed while being “sandwiched” between two skaters, maintaining an arm’s length distance without falling, tripping, overtaking, or running into another skater.
4.5 Unexpected Obstacles
4.5.1 Skating within a pack of at least four other skaters, who are falling in front of the skater at various unexpected times. Skater must demonstrate the ability to deal with unexpected obstacles, such as another skater who has fallen within a pack, by avoiding or safely falling without hurting self, the fallen skater, and without causing an unnecessary hazard for any of the pack skaters.
4.6 Leaning
4.6.1 Skates while leaning shoulder to shoulder with another skater without falling, while maintaining an upright position and propulsion
4.7 Bumping
4.7.1 Maintains or recovers balance while being bumped into and having wheels bumped by another skaters without falling
5.1 Taking Hits
5.1.1 Responds safely (without falling or falling safely, accurately, and small, without sprawling unnecessarily, with quick recoveries) to repeated heavy checks
5.1.2 Demonstrates the above in a pack situation, without causing an unnecessary hazard for pack skaters.
5.2 Body Blocking/Frontal Blocking/Stall Blocking
5.2.1 Performs with good posture and without loss of balance or focus
5.3 Checks
5.3.1 Performs checks with legal body parts delivered within legal blocking zones with moderate to heavy force while skating at a brisk pace
Skater must demonstrate knowledge of current rules.
6.1 Rules
6.1.1 Skater must demonstrate knowledge of current rules. Skater must sign off on having read the VRDL rules document. The league official/team captain is responsible for ensuring that skaters are familiar with VRDL rules and demonstrate this knowledge in their play.
The skater must demonstrate proficiency in the following areas:
7.1 Additional Skills
7.1.1 Pushups and situps executed with correct form. advanced (50)
7.1.2 Warm up and stretch. Skaters must perform their own warm up and stretch appropriate to their level.
7.1.3 Safety. Skaters must show working knowledge of safety equipment and practices.
After reading through all that don't even try to tell me this is a sport for "lightweights". We're talking some serious workouts here! It takes a lot of stamina and commitment to do this every week. Besides, you won't find a better group of women to hang with! So, a big shout out to my 10 Roller Derby sisters who took tonight's skill test and passed it! Way to go! You rock (or should I say roll?)

No comments:

Post a Comment